Tiffin City Council moved a slate of infrastructure and grant measures at its Monday, July 6 meeting, approving a state-funded traffic-signal upgrade at West Market Street and Teakwood Drive, authorizing bids for a sewer replacement on Shawhan and Second avenues, and adopting the city’s 2027 tax budget.
The meeting also featured the presentation of a Tiffin Police Department Life-Saving Award and a detailed briefing on a new stormwater permit tied to pollution limits for the Sandusky River. Council members present cast every recorded vote 7–0.
Sergeant honored for talking a teen through a crisis
Police Chief David Pauly presented Sgt. Jared Watson with the department’s Life-Saving Award — the second of Watson’s career — for his response to a June 1 mental health emergency involving a 13-year-old.
According to the citation Pauly read into the record, officers responded that evening to a report of a teenager in a severe mental health crisis who was suicidal and had access to a firearm. A crisis hotline worker relayed that the teen had said he would harm himself if police did not leave. After the teen disconnected from the hotline, Watson established phone contact and, over about 30 minutes, built rapport and persuaded him to put the weapon down, leave the residence and accept help. The teen surrendered peacefully, was taken into protective custody without incident, and was transported to a hospital. Officers later confirmed he had immediate access to a loaded firearm.
Pauly said the outcome “was not the result of chance,” but the product of Watson’s training and crisis-intervention skills. Watson turned the recognition toward his colleagues: “I have my name on the certificate, but there were … 10 other guys that were out there that without them, it was a team,” he told council.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Traffic signal set for West Market and Teakwood
Council passed Ordinance 2026-45, authorizing a Local Public Agency agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation and the procurement of construction services for the West Market Street and Teakwood Drive Traffic Signal Improvement Project. The work includes protected left turns at West Market Street.
The project is backed by an ODOT Abbreviated Safety Funding grant that covers 90% of eligible design, construction and inspection costs, up to a maximum of $102,724.90. The ordinance also appropriated $50,000 into the State Highway Improvement Fund for the preliminary engineering phase. Council suspended its reading rule and passed the measure as an emergency; a committee report noted a consultant-authorization deadline of Aug. 15 as the reason for the expedited timeline.
Sewer replacement bids authorized for Shawhan and Second avenues
Ordinance 2026-47 authorizes City Administrator Nick Dutro to prepare plans and specifications, advertise for and receive bids, and execute a contract for the Shawhan Avenue and Second Avenue Sewer Replacement Project. Funding for the work is already in place. One council member noted the project involves a $150,000 grant and that prompt passage would help the city meet a grant deadline. Council suspended its reading rule and passed the ordinance as an emergency.
2027 tax budget adopted
Council adopted the city’s Fiscal Year 2027 tax budget (Ordinance 2026-41) and directed the finance director to deliver it to the Seneca County Auditor by July 20. The measure was passed as an emergency to satisfy state law, which requires municipalities to adopt a tax budget on or before July 15. The tax budget is a required annual filing that precedes the county budget commission’s review.
Fire/Rescue residency repeal advances
A proposal to eliminate the Fire/Rescue Division’s residency requirement (Ordinance 2026-46) received a first reading and remains pending. It advanced from the Personnel and Labor Committee, which recommended repeal on a 3–0 vote at its June 22 meeting.
According to the committee report, the city currently uses a modified rule requiring firefighters to live within a 45-mile radius, but Fire Chief Rob Chappell has asked to remove it to widen the applicant pool. The report said the department is fully staffed, that there is currently no requirement for off-duty members to answer emergency recalls — with more than half the department not responding to a recall — and that the division relies heavily on mutual aid. Committee members were also told that many area departments have already eliminated residency rules. A council vote on the repeal is expected at a future meeting.
New stormwater permit ties city to Sandusky River pollutant limits
Dutro briefed council on a new state stormwater permit for the city’s municipal separate storm sewer system, or MS4. The city’s current permit took effect April 1, 2021 and expired March 31, 2026; the city is now in the draft period for the renewal. A draft of the general permit has been circulated to council, and the public-comment period ends Aug. 4, after which the city will apply for a new permit through the Ohio EPA.
Under the new permit, the Sandusky River and Sandusky Bay tributaries have been designated for a total maximum daily load, or TMDL, addressing total phosphorus, nitrate and nitrite, total suspended solids and sediment. Dutro said the city already meets many of the incoming requirements but will need new public-outreach measures — including messaging on proper salt storage — and, at some point, a stormwater project that could require council funding. Ordinance updates tied to the permit are also expected within a year of its approval.
Dutro reported that the City Engineer’s Office completed 251 construction-site inspections in 2025, resulting in four noted violations and 19 verbal corrections that were resolved within a week. He added that a 2024 project eliminated 18 septic systems in the city. The Water Pollution Control Center’s permit is up for renewal on the same timeline, with a possible reclassification from a Category 3 to a Category 4 facility still to be determined.
Finance department reports fifth state audit award
Finance Director Jill Lindhorst delivered the department’s annual report, highlighting its fifth Auditor of State Award, earned in 2024 for clean audits and adherence to generally accepted accounting principles. She reported that 2025 income tax receipts were up 2.75% over 2024, and that the sewer revenue office billed $7,837,635.30 across 8,896 accounts, up 1,009 accounts from the prior year. Lindhorst also outlined efficiency goals for the coming years, including a new credit-card payment processor, expanded electronic payments and records, and steps to reduce postage costs.
Also from the meeting
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Trilogy sewer easement (Ord. 2026-37): Passed 7–0 on third reading, authorizing the mayor to negotiate and enter into a sanitary sewer easement with Trilogy Real Estate Tiffin, LLC.
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License-plate-reader refund (Ord. 2026-48): Passed 7–0, appropriating a $17,382.76 refund into the General Capital Improvement Fund for two license-plate-reader cameras that were not used. Councilmember Kevin Roessner said suspending the reading rule would let the city begin earning interest on the returned funds sooner.
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Committee assignments: A request to issue an RFP for the sale and development of city-owned real estate adjacent to City Lot 6 (Mayor’s Request 26-28) will be taken up at a Committee of the Whole on Monday, July 20 at 6 p.m. A federal grants compliance study (26-29) went to the Finance Committee, and a stormwater easement (26-30) went to the Streets, Sidewalks and Sewers Committee, which meets Monday, July 13 at 5:15 p.m.
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Tiffin East Park sale: Dutro said the National Park Service has agreed to revert the roughly four-acre former Louisa K. Fast Park — recently renamed Tiffin East Park — back to the federal government to be sold, clearing a last hurdle in a multi-year process. The General Services Administration is expected to list the property in an online auction in the coming months.
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Tax office closure: The city tax department will be closed Wednesday, July 8 through Friday, July 10 for annual training in Columbus.
